Depths
by MolonLabe 300
Summary: Phineas and Isabella are trapped at the bottom of the ocean, and they can't get themselves out. What will they admit when all seems hopeless? My answer to Phinbella 16's Fanfiction's Got Talent. Any comment and/or constructive criticism you have is welcome in my book, by anyone, Guest or User. This is a oneshot, with Phinbella.


**Ladies, Gents, and Grand Challenger Phinbella16, this is my 2nd round entry to Fanfiction's Got Talent. Thank you for opening this page; please read and review. **

**Disclaimer: The author doesn't own any of the characters or the show; they belong to Disney. And no, he's not getting cash out of this.**

July the 3rd. 1400 hrs

"Holy…" Ferb murmured. "Baljeet! Buford! Get back here!"

Baljeet entered the bridge first, followed by Buford, who was finishing off another hot dog.

Ferb's eyes scanned his consoles frantically. His tongue began moving faster than it had in recent memory. "Baljeet, give me 400% standard velocity. Buford, transfer all reserve power to mobility and sensors."

His finger moved towards the three switches labelled 'Reactors', one of which was flipped on. He flipped the other two on, and glanced at the fluctuating power levels as extra fusion reactors fed power into the increased demands of the propellers. The submarine began to power through the water at a speed that would have made the fastest navy vessels look stationary.

"What happened, Ferb?" Baljeet asked.

The eleven-year-old with green hair plotted a steep spiral trajectory headed downwards.

"Phineas and Isabella. Their sub just went down."

He gestured to the display. "Into the Laurentian Abyss."

* * *

July the 3rd. 1100 hrs

"Okay, we're here!" Jeremy called.

The blonde 16-year-old parked his RV, walked over to the side of the vehicle, and opened the door for his redheaded girlfriend.

Candace straightened her back. "Argh, that was a long ride. You twerps okay back there?"

She turned around. "Phineas?"

* * *

Phineas cleared his throat. "Alright, final stop: Miami, Florida! Thanks for dining with us, guys! You were great."

The truckers began filing out the door and heading towards their trucks. "Thanks, Phineas! Thanks, Isabella!" One trucker called. "You guys were great!"

"You too, Gus!" Isabella waved.

Phineas grinned. "Wow, Ferb, the No-stop Truck-stop got even more customers this time!"

"To be accurate, you superseded your previous count by over 60%." Baljeet started rambling. "This can be partially attributed to the longer road trip, but also due to the fact that this time, you had a more enthusiastic waitress and a bouncer to chase off drunk guys. However, a substantial portion of this increase could also be caused by a new fluctuation of truckers over this past few months in the states of- OW!"

Buford casually backhanded Baljeet, sending him flying across the room. "Hey, guys! Your sister is calling us downstairs!"

The Five Man Band shimmied down the ladder, and then ran out of the RV.

* * *

July the 3rd. 1130 hrs.

Phineas sighed as he felt the hot sun on his face, and took another bite out of his burger. "Ah… sunny beaches… good food… all our moms and dads away on a cruise… what could be better, Isabella?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. What _could_ be better?"

"Well, how 'bout a ride in a submarine?"

Buford whistled. "You know, guys, I don't see how you could fit an entire submarine, or for that matter a ton of stuff over this past summer, into your pockets."

Baljeet, answering for Ferb, replied, "Actually, it's part of an elaborate technology, developed by Ferb, that directly emits an intensely focused set of photons, harnesses and quantizes the energy, and then dictates the formation of the quantized energy into components of the atom. From there…" Baljeet beheld the stumped look on Buford's face.

Ferb took over. "We have something that turns light into anything we want."

"Oh. That makes a lot more sense than the college lecture before that. But what about pulling it out of your pocket?"

"Sleight-of-hand."

"Ah… so, er, are we ready?" Buford asked.

Phineas nodded. "Yes, yes we are."

Ferb 'pulled' the submarine out of his pocket. It landed in the water, and the Five got in.

* * *

July the 3rd. 1135 hrs.

"And so Stacy was, like, 'OH MY GOSH.' But then, Jenny came with her brother and…" Candace looked around.

"Guys?" She looked around the beach from the table in the beachside restaurant, under the portico. "Where are you, twerps?"

Jeremy sighed. "Candace, they're probably off looking for a sunken city or inventing something."

"WHAT?! Wait, why does that surprise me?" Candace thought for a moment, and then shrugged. "At any rate, they are _so…_"

"Uh, Candace?" Jeremy asked. "You know your Mom's not here, right?"

"Well, yeah, but…"

"So even if you bust your brothers, you won't be able to tell her, right?"

"Well, I could always _call_ her…"

"Candace, you don't have international coverage."

"True." Candace sighed. "Then what should I do?"

"Just relax, Candace. It'll be alright."

* * *

July the 3rd. 1135 hrs.

"Tell me again, why does Buford have an officer slot that would be manned more readily by Isabella?"

"Hey!" Buford complained. "I heard that!"

Ferb cleared his throat. He whispered, "It's their first date."

"Ah, okay… wait, WHAT?!" Baljeet gaped.

"Come on, nerd, she was never into you." Buford scratched his head. "So, when did he find out about her crush on him?"

"Earlier this summer. Remember when I was in New York?"

"For what?"

Ferb sighed. "When I posted that picture of apple pie on Facebook?"

"Oh! Yeah, I remember it now!"

"Supposedly, during that time."

"But what about that giant Minecraft adventure?" Baljeet asked. "Doesn't that count?"

Ferb shook his head.

"Yeah, it wasn't so much a date, more like everyone hiding from the Enderdragon." Buford shrugged. "It sucks that you can punch trees into little blocks in that game, but it's impossible to break someone's wooden sword."

"It's a game. It has its own unique logic."

The other two thought, then nodded.

"So, what now?"

Ferb pointed to the console and pressed a few buttons. "Buckle up. We go out into the deep ocean."

"How're we going to- AAAAAAAAH!"

The submarine suddenly accelerated, throwing Baljeet across the room.

Ferb turned around. "We're travelling at speeds no other naval vessel has ever reached before. I suggest you buckle up."

"Yeah, like me!" Buford called.

Baljeet groaned as he pulled himself towards his chair. "Buford, when did _you_ start listening to instructions?"

"When did _you_ stop?" Buford retorted.

* * *

July the 3rd. 1137 hrs.

Phineas and Isabella sat in the viewing dome.

Isabella gasped as the dome polarized, exposing the view of the ocean. "Wow, Phineas, this is beautiful!"

"Yeah, it is, isn't it?" Phineas sighed.

"Um, Phineas, you're looking at my face."

"What?" He shook himself out of his face. "Er, I mean…"

Isabella laughed, and Phineas felt himself blush.

"Well, both do look beautiful."

Suddenly, the submarine began accelerating violently.

"Hold on, Isabella, this'll be a wild ride!" Phineas chuckled.

For another ten minutes, the submarine held that blazing velocity. Then, it slowed down, and the two of them settled down again.

Isabella sighed. "Well, that was… whoa."

She gasped as they looked out into the deep ocean, seeing the thousands of fishes swimming around.

_There are so _many, she thought.

"Do you like it, Isabella?" Phineas asked.

"Oh, Phineas… I love it!"

"Well, follow me, then!" He gestured for her to follow.

Isabella reluctantly tore herself away from the sight and followed him downstairs.

"Ready?" He asked, a smile appearing on his lips.

"Sure." Isabella replied.

"Close your eyes."

Isabella shut her eyes, and then heard Phineas say something into a walkie-talkie. Then she felt a jerk, and a sense as if they were moving through the water.

"Open your eyes." He whispered.

Isabella looked, and saw that they were in a mini sub, with a sleek, aesthetic design. The mini sub was separating from the main submarine, where Ferb and the others were. From inside the mini sub, she could see the sea life around her all the better, with massive windows and viewports all over the sub.

"Oh, this is great!" She exclaimed.

"Well, Isabella, take a seat." Phineas gestured towards the co-pilot's chair.

She sat down, and Phineas began driving the sub through the water.

"Phineas…"

"Yes?"

"This is _beautiful_."

* * *

July the 3rd. 1150 hrs.

"So, now what?"

Ferb shrugged. "I just keep watching the systems and life signs aboard their sub. You guys can hang out in this sub; it has video game systems, a theatre, and a kitchen. There are hot dogs in the freezer, just put them in the automatic cooker and it'll cook them, put them in a bun, and apply any toppings you want."

Buford, however, had left the moment he heard the term 'hot dog'. Baljeet was right on his heels, looking for the video game systems.

Ferb shrugged. "Well, that was fast."

He pulled out his wallet, and scanned a few photos.

He smiled at one that he, Phineas, and Isabella had taken a few days before in a photo booth.

_They'd make a great couple_, he thought. _Or, they _make_ a great couple._

* * *

July the 3rd. 1350 hrs.

For a few hours, Phineas and Isabella had continued to explore the ocean, wondering at the sea life. They ate fried chicken, slices of ham, and some grilled cheese sandwiches from a picnic basket that had been stowed on the mini sub. They explored several atolls, and even went down to several deep ocean trenches.

"So, um, Isabella…" Phineas started. "What do you think?"

Isabella sighed happily. "Oh, Phineas… I've told you a hundred times already, it's _great_."

"Yeah." Phineas started shifting in his seat.

"Listen, Isabella, I was thinking… are we going to make this official?"

"What do you mean?" She stared at him, confused.

"No, not that I don't mean everything I said about having a relationship. I just mean, should we make this a public thing that we're an item?"

Isabella was silent for a while. "Why not?"

"I mean, I'm not sure if it's a good idea to announce that we're a couple just yet. There might be a lot of pressure from different people… and I just don't know if we're old enough to be calling ourselves 'girlfriend' and 'boyfriend' yet."

Both were silent for a few more minutes.

Isabella sighed. "Well, Phineas, I think- AAAAAAH!"

* * *

July the 3rd. 1401 hrs.

"This sub is travelling a lot faster than I thought one could!" Buford yelled as the sub streaked through the water.

Ferb was talking more than he thought it ever could. "Antimatter reactor. We developed it with the Meapians."

Baljeet scanned his console frantically. "Ferb, the Laurentian Abyssal is still too far off! They had over two hours on us – we need to go faster!"

"Hold on, guys." Ferb said. "Computer, activate large-scale teleportation!"

"Activating. Location?"

"Laurentian Abyss." He began to spout of a set of coordinates. Suddenly, with a purple flash, they appeared in the blackness of the trench.

"This was their last known location; they went down for several minutes, and then they stopped transmitting."

"Could they have crashed?" Buford asked.

Ferb shook his head. "Not the cause of the stop in transmitting; we're right at this spot, and there's still a few kilometers down to go. More likely would be a failure of ancillary systems, including communications.

"Come on, guys. Let's start looking. If their buoyancy control failed, this was the level it would have defaulted at."

"Ferb? What if we do not find them?"

Ferb turned to look at Baljeet.

"We _have_ to find them."

* * *

July the 3rd. 1415 hrs.

"Isabella, are you okay?"

Isabella felt herself regain consciousness. "Ah… yeah, I think so."

"Okay, don't get up yet. It's dark in here; I think the light systems failed. Let me find my torch… there we go."

He fumbled around for the switch, and triggered it. The torch turned on, showing the interior of the submarine.

"Oh, gosh… it's cold." Isabella murmured.

_The temperature control must have shorted out_. Phineas thought. In his usual summer clothes, he was able to handle it, but Isabella's short sundress and flip-flops wouldn't exactly do her any good at keeping her warm.

He tried pushing every button on the dashboard, but nothing would turn on.

"I'm sorry, Isabella, but nothing's working."

Isabella shivered. _It's so dark out there, _she thought,_ and cold, too_. She had been on plenty of Fireside Girl campouts, but she had always been prepared for the situation. And there had never been darkness like this before.

As Phineas frantically tried to get the mini sub working, she opened her Fireside Girl handbook, and flipped to the section about being stuck in ocean trenches.

"'If you ever find yourself stuck in a sub at the bottom of an ocean trench," she read out loud, "you should begin writing a document that details how you plan to distribute your posthumous possessions, called a will.'" Isabella sighed.

"Well, that's helpful." She snarked.

Phineas came up to her. "Isabella, I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do. Nothing's turning on."

A few hours later, despite their prayers and hoping, no one had found them.

"Well, Isabella… this might be it."

"No! That can't just be it! I mean, you're Phineas Flynn! You can do the impossible!"

"Sorry, Isabella…"

Isabella dropped her gaze, and took a deep breath.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I'm sorry that I disappointed you, Izzie."

"W-what do you mean?"

He looked into her eyes, and she looked into his.

"I got us into this mess. Now, we'll never get out of this sub. The oxygen supply's running out, and we only have a few minutes left."

Both kept silent for about a minute.

"No."

Phineas turned his head to look at Isabella. "What?"

"No! Phineas, you did your best! You spent every day of this summer, and all the past summers and every Christmas, always trying to make the most of them. You've touched countless people throughout your life! And you haven't disappointed me! You're the best boyfriend I could ever have!"

And suddenly, tears began running down her face.

"A-a-and… I'm not sure how I could ever compare to you." Isabella finished.

Phineas couldn't stop the tears from streaking down his face.

"Do you have any regrets, Phineas?" Isabella asked.

Phineas nodded. "Y-y-yes. I'm never going to found that trillion-dollar corporation and bring the US out of the economic crisis."

Isabella nodded.

He continued. "I'm never going to… never going to Paris again, and have that romantic day with you."

Isabella hugged him, a tiny sob breaking out from her throat.

"And… I'm never going to give you that kiss on our wedding day…"

And both looked at each other and smiled, because they had said the exact said thing.

"Jinx." Isabella said playfully.

Phineas smiled. "I owe you a cream soda."

Isabella settled into Phineas' arms.

"Phineas… what would you have named our kids, if we would have ever had any?"

Phineas thought on it.

"What gender?"

"Give three boy names and three girls names."

"Alexander, William, and Donovan. And girls… Violet, Kathleen, and Astrid."

Isabella thought for a while. "Those are great names… If only, Phineas. If only." Then she kissed him, as deep as she possibly could. He kissed back, making the most of every moment he had.

And both lay there, held in that embrace, as they fell into what could only be described as a deep and dreamless sleep…

"GUYS!"

Or not.

"HEY, LOVEBIRDS! GET ABOARD!"

_Buford? _Phineas thought.

"Phineas?" Baljeet said. "We are hooking up a spare generator to your sub. In a few seconds, you should have fresh air being pumped into your sub and carbon dioxide pumped out. Patching live feed… OH BLESSED VISHNU!"

It was at that point that Phineas realized he and Isabella were still making out.

"Oh! Um… Er…" Phineas stumbled over his words.

Ferb sighed and flipped off the live feed. "Let them have a bit more privacy, people."

Back on the mini sub, Phineas and Isabella hugged each other, new tears streaking down their faces. Eventually, they wiped their eyes, and cleaned up.

"Phineas?" Isabellas said.

"Yeah?"

"About making it official… we don't need to make it public, because as far as I know, it's already official."

Phineas grinned. "Alright."

"Do you promise?" Isabella asked.

"I promise. Forever."

"From the depths of your heart?"

He smiled, and gave her a hug.

"From the absolute depths of my heart."

**Please review; constructive criticism is always welcome in my book. And if you haven't read it, please read my other fic, on Rome, titled: 'The Tribune, the Princess, and the Champion.**


End file.
